R&P General Construction

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• By Mabel Estremera E.

  April 25, 2018

  Home remodel

  $289,000

  I signed a contract with Mr. Roberto Gonzalez to renovate my home in West New York, NJ on May 25, 2017. It is a Time/Materials contract. The first couple of months seemed to go smoothly until Mr. Gonzalez requested that I go purchase materials such as window and floors. I selected the items and paid for them. In the the next invoice, I noticed Mr. Gonzalez was charging me for these materials. When I pointed out that I needed a credit for what I had purchased, he disagreed saying this was money owed him. I tried to explain that I had supplied the material, therefore; I only needed to pay him for the labor involved. (Whenever my purchase was greater than the agreed amount on the contract, I obviously only expected a credit for the agreed amount.) I had a lawyer write up an amendment in order to reach a compromise, but Mr. Gonzalez refused to hear any other interpretation. He began bullying me. Sending text after text saying he needed more money. I kept very careful records of everything I spent and knew he was asking for tens of thousands more than what was owed him. He stopped working on my house and began working on the next door neighbor's house. There are many other instances where Mr. Gonzalez was unreasonable. Beer bottles were found after working hours on the premises, he fabricated a change order that was not approved or signed on by owner and demanded payment, and the list goes on. When informed via letter that he was fired due to Breach of Contract, he was asked to make an appointment to pick up his equipment. He instead showed up unannounced late in the evening and started banging on the front door demanding his tools. I was afraid for my safety because he was acting irrationally and called the police. The following day, I put his equipment in the alleyway for pick-up. At this time he re-entered the premises, even though he had been clearly asked not to by the police the night before, and took an antique sink from the property. I have documentation of everything: copies of checks, copies of texts, attorney letter and attempted amendment to contract, copies of invoices, and a copy of the contract. After this awful experience I have become aware that Mr. Gonzales (which sometimes uses the alias Roberto G Velazquez) previously owned another company by the name of RGV Construction, 183 Louis Street, Secaucus, NJ 07094, 201766-1595. The address is the same he uses now for R&P. I paid Mr. Gonzalez for a great deal of work that was either not done at all or finished not completely. For example, he installed one heating unit of 2 and no air conditioning. I have a full report of work missing or done poorly.The windows, for example, were not caulked. When it rains, water enters the house. No gutters were installed either. It is a living nightmare!! I have had to hire companies to install equipment he did not install but was paid for. This is the type of business that gives contractor's a bad name. There should be a way he is held accountable for his negligence. Consumers should be able to look up a business and see their history. I researched this business thoroughly, I checked his references and still this happened!!!! Businesses should not be permitted to change their name without careful scrutiny. Laws need to be put into place to deter crooks like Roberto Gonzalez. Something has to be done. I heard someone say, "If you steal a candy bar from a convenience store, you're taken away in handcuffs, but these guys steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from hard working people and get away with it."

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